Red-hot Sports in Redmond

For the first time since the 1998 PGA Championship (won by Vijay Singh), the Pacific Northwest is hosting a major golf championship, the U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club, which hosted the ’98 PGA as well as the 2002 World Golf Championships.

Who do I like this week?

It’s hard to root against local favorite Fred Couples, who has played this course more than anyone in the field, and will have the entire gallery behind him.  But there is so much talent on the Champions Tour now with names like Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia (who can forget his implosion at St. Andrews a few weeks ago after being in contention), defending champion Fred Funk, 39-time titleist Tom Watson… the list goes on.

I also think Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin will have a very good week. For one, he’s coming off a runner-up finish at the Senior British Open at Carnoustie last weekend, and secondly, length is not needed to score well at Sahalee, which is the epitome of a shotmaker’s course.  Pavin is towards the bottom of the list in driving distance on Tour and has been his whole career, but his ability to hit the fairway and great short game have won him 15 PGA titles including the memorable 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

If you’re not one of the 140,000 expected to head out to Sahalee and watch the action live, everyone be sure to watch the coverage, which gets underway on Thursday and Friday on ESPN2 from 2pm-6pm local time, and will get picked up by NBC for 3rd and final round coverage from 1pm-4pm.

Tim’s Picks to Click (top 5)

1. Fred Funk – I believe he can win back-to-back Senior Opens, though on a wildly different course. Been playing better than ever since knee surgery.

2. Fred Couples – Has experience, and knows his way around Sahalee. Will be overwhelming crowd favorite, will be in contention if he can get putts to drop on the fast and tricky greens.

3. Corey Pavin – His accurate tee ball and solid putting is a huge advantage at Sahalee.

4. Tom Watson – He may be advancing in years, but can still hang with the big boys.  If you watched the 2009 British Open, you know what I mean.

5. Loren Roberts – My outside pick. “Boss of the Moss” will have his putting skills tested at Sahalee, and he’s a shotmaker. Don’t be surprised to see a top-10 from him this week.

Winning Score:  -8, 272.  There’s no way we will see a repeat of -20 (Fred Funk at Crooked Stick) last year.  This course is just too punishing and the greens are too difficult… and there are just two par 5s in the layout (4 last year) and neither are gimme birdies.